Dunne: This one's for the fans

Sunday 29 January 2006 00:10 BST

Richard Dunne has called on Manchester City to make a flying start against Middlesbrough on Monday to prove to their long-suffering fans they really do care.

City were jeered by their own supporters during their four-goal humiliation at Wigan last Saturday. Pressure on the Blues squad has hardly been helped by two blunt statements from chairman John Wardle, who labelled the Wigan disaster "an embarrassment", then declared mere Premiership survival can no longer be viewed as a success for the Eastlands outfit.

"In the first 10 or 15 minutes, we need to show the fans we are giving everything for the jersey," said the Blues skipper. "We need the supporters behind us now more than at any other stage of the season."

He added: "We need them 100% behind us but I am sure they will all be quite tense before the game because people will be wondering whether we are going to perform and whether we are good enough. We have to show them we are."

Dunne's bizarre own goal at Wigan summed up City's day at the JJB Stadium, where defeat maintained a staggeringly inconsistent series of results so far this term.

While the Blues have picked up just a single point from five games on their travels this season, on home soil they are unbeaten and yet to concede a goal.

Dunne, 27, admits such a weekly lurch in fortunes is not acceptable and is looking for a win over Middlesbrough to spark City into life.

"As a team, we have to stop getting ourselves into a situation where we need to get a win to try and make things better from the previous week," he said.

"We have to get a positive result against Middlesbrough, then make sure we go on a run of six or seven unbeaten. We want to start picking up points on a regular basis to prove it is not all doom and gloom at the club."

Even though manager Stuart Pearce could have half a dozen players back - including Ben Thatcher - after heading into the Wigan game with an horrendous injury list, he realises victory over Boro is anything but straightforward for City.